


Voice Clear as a Music Note

by thisiseclipse



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-16
Updated: 2020-08-16
Packaged: 2021-03-06 05:20:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,971
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25928044
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thisiseclipse/pseuds/thisiseclipse
Summary: Even when akumatized as Silence, Luka remained level-headed when Marinette spoke to him. What if it wasn't Ladybug who saved the day, but Marinette herself?- - -CREDITS :Writing by @_thisiseclipse_ (IG)Art by @courtneywirthit (IG)
Relationships: Luka Couffaine/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug
Comments: 12
Kudos: 182





	Voice Clear as a Music Note

**Author's Note:**

> MAIN NOTES :
> 
> This fic was made in collaboration with Courtneywirthit (IG), as she inspired and motivated me to make this alongside some Lukanette/Silencer art she made. While some art included is my own, any art of hers will be credited in the Chapter Summary, and IS posted with her permission.
> 
> \- - - 
> 
> LANGUAGE NOTES :
> 
> As French is one of my first languages, I watch Miraculous in its original audio! Due to this, I use the French names for the characters since it flows more naturally for me, as well as writing in some minor French words. I'll leave translations and pronunciations for any words/name changes in the notes below.
> 
> Characters :  
> \- Papillon [ Pa-pea-eon ] - Hawk Moth  
> \- Silence [ Si-leon-ce ] - Silencer
> 
> Words :  
> \- Monsieur [ Meh-sieu ] - Sir  
> \- Hein ? [ Huh ] - Huh?
> 
> \- - -
> 
> FYI + DISCLAIMER : 
> 
> All dialogue between characters is a mixture of my own translations from the French audio and fictitious dialogue of my own based on how I changed the scenario. 
> 
> I do not own any characters from the ML franchise. This work is used for entertainment purposes, and all characters and settings belong to Thomas Astruc and all other respective creators and entities.

_« Tu es une fille extraordinaire, Marinette. Tu es claire comme une note de musique, sincère comme une mélodie… Tu es la chanson dans ma tête depuis notre rencontre. »_

> \- Luka Couffaine; Silence

* * *

The anger that blossomed out of the disgrace against Kitty Section was more than understandable. 

Melodies that required hours upon hours of rehearsing, costume designs that took up early mornings and late nights for flawless execution, and above all, the well-tuned teamwork that took years to perfect, had been shattered like glass across national television. Marinette’s heart itself seemed to crack, witnessing the band she invested hours of time and emotions into, crumble into before her. What hurt even more was seeing Luka, someone who always tried to keep himself level-headed for the sake of the team, appear upset in the face of this malice.

Knowing that they had to do something, the pair of them had managed to sneak into the live production building after the rest of his bandmates created a diversion out front. Thankfully, the hallways weren’t too complex to follow, as they found their way into the recording room without much trouble. With anger boiling over her head, Marinette gave zero hesitation when scolding the DJ’s manager for stealing their work, Luka even snatching the poorly-copied mask off the DJ’s face. Yet, once the man began to bite back, something in Luka’s gut told him that arguing wasn’t worth it.

“Hey Marinette, let’s just go. These guys won’t listen, don’t waste your breath.” he muttered, putting a hand on her shoulder.

“Won’t listen? How will you know if you don’t try? They stole _your_ music, Luka! I have every right to get angry! I’ll tell the broadcaster myself if they don’t listen.” She glanced at the hand he placed on her shoulder. “If anything, don’t worry about me. I’m the one who’s worried about you here.”

As she continued to argue, the manager yelled back even harder, belittling her words and efforts as if she was a mere five year-old. Luka gripped the mask he was holding, a trying attempt to keep his cool, but whatever anger Marinette was feeling simply magnified his own. He couldn’t just watch the girl he adored get trampled over, no matter how much he wished to avoid conflict. To him, she was like a well-tuned instrument playing sweet melodies on a spring day, something that complimented his calm, and encouraged him to keep practicing the thing he loved most. He had joked a few times that he was trying to find the perfect tune to reflect the melody she played in his heart, but in actuality, that joke wasn’t far from the truth. The evident obstacle to spilling these emotions however, was Adrien. He felt that it would be unfair to her if he expressed his love when she had eyes for someone else; the last thing she needed was to be confused, and if that solely meant being by her side as a friend, he’d do just that.

But now she was being treated like a child, despite the obvious inspirations her outfit gave this scammer duo, and he couldn’t stand to see it. 

Yet suddenly, one moment he was looking at the studio, but the next, his vision was clouded in purple, the words “Papillon” and “Avenge the one you love” echoing in his head. The anger that he managed to keep suppressed inside seemed to fill his head and every cell in his body until all he could see before him was the girl he loved.

“Silence their voices so yours won’t be drowned out, Silence. All I ask in exchange for these powers is the Ladybug and Chat Noir miraculous” the voice continued, “After all, what wouldn’t you do for this girl you love?” Luka grasped his head, blinking blindingly as anger consumed every source of reason in his body. Everyone around him seemed to turn into mindless, talking puppets, yelling curses and crude language until he ran over, pressing his fingers on the DJ’s lips. He wished for him to stop; stop speaking this way to the person he held so dear. 

“ _Shhh_ …” Luka muttered. Silence. The DJ stopped talking, a tiny jellyfish-like orb of light escaping his lips. He glanced up, holding his hand to the side of his mask, and the orb quickly zipped into it. The DJ’s voice was now his own.

“Luka…?” Marinette muttered, the only voice he wanted to hear. She was the one music note that rang clear through his anger. While her eyes shook, she seemed not scared of him, but scared _for_ him; hesitant to back away, yet her legs and bright pink shoes seemed to fidget in place. One rational thought ran through his head: she had to know that he’d never hurt him. He was doing this to protect her craft after all.

“Marinette…” he spoke, the words not coming from his lips, but rather his hands; in fact, the voice wasn’t even his own, it was the DJ’s. He took tiny steps towards her, hoping she wouldn’t back or run away from him. “I’d never hurt you, Marinette. I’m doing this _for_ you and Kitty Section, if these people never voice their support for us, then what’s the point of having a voice at all? You deserve better than this.”

“Yes, but Luka, you can stop! Listen to me! This isn’t right!” she exclaimed, pausing a second before looking at him in the eyes. Yes, that wasn’t fear of him, but for what he might do if he didn’t listen to her. Whatever reason she was trying to get into his head, he would’ve normally accepted in the blink of an eye, but whatever this haze of anger was, all it gave him were two trains of thought: revenge and protecting Marinette.

“It doesn’t matter what’s right or not.” he continued, placing a hand on her shoulder while the other one spoke. “Marinette, you’re an extraordinary girl. Voice as clear as a music note, and sincere like the most beautiful melody I’ve tried to perfect. You’re the song that’s been playing in my head since the day we met.” He sighed, averting his vision towards the manager that was continuing to send curses in their direction before sharing Marinette’s gaze once again. “I know you mean well, but I can’t let these people talk to you like this. I’ll come back once I’ve avenged you.”

\- - -

With that, Luka took off down the hall, running in the direction the manager took off. Marinette found her breath thinning, a billion thoughts swimming through her head at once. Was that just a confession? Luka just got akumized? But that was also a confession? Her heart pounded, whether it was from anxiety or a rush of butterflies to the stomach, she concluded it to be a bit of both.

“Marinette, don’t you think you should take this time to transform?” Tikki’s voice piped up. She nodded. Yes, of course she should transform, but why was she hesitating? Was Ladybug what Luka needed right now? He said he was protecting her right now, but would he act the same when faced with Ladybug? Did she even have the guts to face him as her superhero half, at the cost of potentially harming him to stop his wreck on the city? The look in his eyes when he confessed to her scrambled her thoughts no matter how hard she tried to avoid getting flustered. Maybe Ladybug really wasn’t what he needed right then and there. 

“Marinette?” Tikki spoke up again, a look of concern on her face.

“Tikki, Ladybug might have to sit this one out.” she replied, biting her lower lip. “I-I mean… maybe I can see if he’ll listen to me as myself, y’know? He is my…” she paused, “... he’s someone I care a lot about, after all.”

“I won’t stop you, but don’t get hurt, okay?” 

“I won’t, don’t worry. I trust Luka, and I’m sure he’ll trust me.” Marinette smiled, before clipping Tikki back into her light-pink purse. He couldn’t have gotten far; the manager certainly wouldn’t have left the building yet, and she doubted Luka would leave until he took the man’s voice too. Perhaps in that sense, there _was_ hope that she could get to him before he completely gave into his anger. It was just a matter of finding him in this large building… until she heard a really loud scream from one of the dressing rooms. Couldn’t be anything else, right?

She ran down the hallway, her flats echoing loudly against the tiled floor. The yells continued, several repetitions of “ _Get away!_ ” and “ _Get your weird hand away from me!_ ” _Bang_. There was a huge impact against one of the doors, like someone was trying to force it open. That must’ve been it.

“Luka!” she yelled, grasping for the door handle. It was jammed. “Luka, let me in! It’s Marinette!” she tried to yank at the door more, trying to dislodge it.

“Someone’s here, oh my God! Help me!” the manager’s voice exclaimed.

“Don’t get ahead of yourself, _Monsieur_.” the DJ’s voice threatened. Luka. Marinette tugged even harder at the door, hoping that it would work without transforming. Eventually, it did give way and opened a crack, allowing her to lodge her foot in and kick it open. The manager fell backwards into the hallway, scrambling onto his feet while half in shock.

“T-Take that!” he yelled, backing up into the wall on the other side of the hallway. Footsteps made their way out of the dressing room onto the tile and towards the manager, causing Marinette’s head to jumble up even more.

“Luka! Can’t you hear me?” she asked, trying her best not to physically interfere so he wouldn’t get any angrier. “You can still stop this!”

“Marinette, stay out of it!” he replied, refusing to break his glance from the man in front of him. “This man wronged you and Kitty Section, if his voice is going to be wasted on anything else, I’d rather it be by doing good rather than bad.”

“But Luka… Ladybug and Chat Noir can help with this, you don’t have to take all of this on yourself-” she began.

“When are Ladybug and Chat Noir there when you need them most then? They weren’t there when our song and your design got disgraced on national television! I can’t stand to see you get hurt, and if they’re willing to let that happen to you then-” he paused, glancing down at the manager and raising his free hand to strike a blow, “If they won’t protect you, then I-”

He got cut off, a pair of arms wrapping around his torso, holding him back “Stop it Luka, you don’t have to take this on yourself!” Marinette cried out, placing her forehead against his back as she held him close.

“ Let _go_ , Marinette! This guy hurt you and I can’t let him say anything else that’ll hurt you even more-” he started, pulling against her grasp before she cut him off again.

“Luka, if Ladybug couldn’t be here to save me, then at least let me be the Ladybug who wants to save you. I may not be her…” she swallowed, pausing so her nerves wouldn’t get the better of her, “I may not be her: someone with superpowers that helps others, but let me try to save you this once like you’ve done for me. Violence and anger isn’t the Luka I know; the boy I know loves music and knows the right thing to say to people when they’re feeling down. After all, you’ve been doing that for me since the first day we met. You said I’ve been the song that’s been playing in your head since that first day, but you’re the one who gave me that melody to begin with…” Her arms wrapped around him tighter, “I get why you’re angry, and you have every right to be, but if it’s for me, I’d rather you look at me in the eyes and tell me that it’ll be alright, rather than harming this man.”

The straining Luka had against her arms immediately stopped. If anything, he leaned slightly into her arms, straightening his back so she could hold onto him better. A sigh could be heard from him. “Do you mean it…?” he muttered.

“Of course I do!” she replied, zero hesitation in her words. Tears pricked their way into her eyes as she continued, “I mean all of it, every single word. I care a lot about you, Luka Couffaine, and to see you hurt because of what someone said to me feels like someone stabbed me a hundred times. So please, please… let me save you this once…” she paused, mumbling the final part, “...as myself.”

She could feel him sigh again, before his knees buckled, causing the two of them to fall to their knees. He reached up, to take her hands, removing them and taking them in his own so he could turn around to face her. “I’m sorry, Marinette, you didn’t deserve any of this, including me making you worry. I’m so sorry…” He bent his head down, refusing to look at her in the eyes.

“Luka…” she began, before placing a hand under his chin so he’d share her gaze. His eyes were stark green, so much unlike the kind, subtle turquoise she was used to. Despite getting “evil-lized,” the fact that the akuma didn’t affect his admiration towards her left so many questions. On top of this, with his confession still ringing fresh in her mind, she suddenly found it difficult to find the right words to escape her lips. Instead, she raised her hands to the sides of his helmet, smiling softly as she muttered a tiny “May I?” He nodded.

She removed the helmet, revealing his once soft, peach skin now a light blue. The helmet shook in her hands slightly, the akuma and voice-jellyfish leaving the helmet as it disintegrated into black dust, leaving the original knock-off cat-unicorn helmet in its place. A tinge of concern ate at Marinette as its purple wings flew above them, remembering her first day as Ladybug and forgetting to cleanse it. However, the akuma seemed to notice the lack of malice in its once-turned victim, circling a couple times before the purple fell off its wings, almost as if Marinette’s words purified it without having to turn into the superhero every person in Paris knew by name. “Oh…” she mumbled, eyes glazed over into wonder, before Luka fell limp in front of her.

“Luka! Hold on!” she exclaimed, coming to her senses and reaching over to hold him as the colour finally returned to his skin. Wrapping her arms around him again, she realized how much holding Luka, someone she cared so much for, at his most vulnerable tugged at her heart. A shaky sigh left her lips, still unable to think of words that could pair with the feelings that consumed her.

“Marinette?”

“ _Hein_ ?!” she exclaimed, jumping slightly. He was conscious again.

“Where am I?” he asked, squinting slightly as he gained his bearings. He then noticed the position they were in and jumped a bit himself. “Uhm, what happened?”

Marinette felt as if her heart dropped to her stomach. “You don’t remember anything? Anything at all?”

“Sorry, I was akumatized, right? One moment I was in the studio while you were arguing with the manager, and the next I’m here.” He reached up to hold his head, groaning slightly as he did so.

“Oh, so you don’t remember anything that you said to me, or… anything I said to you…?” she murmured, shifting her glance away from him. 

“I’m sorry, Marinette.” he shrugged, worry laced through his words. “I really hope it was nothing mean, I’d never want to hurt you.” He smiled softly at her, moving out of her grasp so the two of them would merely face each other while on the floor. He averted his own gaze before reaching over to take her hands into his own. “Marinette, you’re an extraordinary girl. Voice as clear as a music note, and sincere like the most beautiful melody I’ve tried to perfect. You’re the song that’s been playing in my head since the day we met. I’d never want to hurt you, and I hope whatever I said when akumatized didn’t cause you to look at me differently.” He looked down at their hands before leaning over to give her a kiss on the cheek. “I hope I’m still the Luka that you can trust and confide in when you’re sad, and smile and joke with you when you’re happy. Now,” he glanced towards the door, “should we go back? I’m sure the manager here will be willing to do the right thing regarding our music matter.”

“Yeah…” she nodded, standing up and promptly letting go of his hands. Something was different this time though, especially now that Luka asked her not to see him differently. It wasn’t because of anything mean like he feared however, as she still saw that boy she could share her highs and lows with. But, there was a feeling that yanked at her conscience and made her want to reach for his hands once more. She must be crazy, right? He didn’t even remember anything he said to her while akumatized. Yet, something in her felt that there were more layers to that music metaphor of a confession, and the butterflies in her stomach urged her to uncover and treasure them one by one.

Feeling her face burn up at the thought, she shook her head and tried to bury it away, walking alongside him to the outside of the building into whatever future awaited them.


End file.
